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Fever Defeat Tactix in Front of Home Crowd

2 April 2012

Staff Writers, Monday, 2 April 2012.

Round 1, 2012

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Final

West Coast Fever

12

25

39

55

55

Canterbury Tactix

10

18

26

35

35

Under
new management, the West Coast Fever of 2012 notched up a confidence-boosting
first-up victory over the Canterbury Tactix, 55-35, in Perth tonight.

With
legendary Australian coach Norma Plummer calling the shots, the Fever appear to
have benefitted from a number of changes in their makeup, including the
evergreen Australian Diamond shooter Cox, and exciting young midcourter
Ashleigh Brazill. The 20-goal
victory was the largest winning margin in the Fever's ANZ Championship history.

The
Tactix - with a similar change in leadership in former Silver Ferns coach Leigh
Gibbs started strongly but couldnt maintain the pace the Fever set from the
second quarter.

Eagle-eyed
shooting from Ellen Halpenny and Jo Harten put the Tactix into a strong
position early, leading 5-2, with wing attack Anna Thompson linking well with
Harten.

At
the opposite end, Cox made no mistake with her first shot in Fever colours, and
was shrewd inside and out of the circle in her unaccustomed role of goal
attack. But Tactix goal keeper Bessie Manu threw herself into the task of denying
Fever goal shooter Caitlin Bassett a comfortable start under the post, and the
Fever were slow to match the Tactix shooting spree.

It
was the trademark stealth defence of wing defence Andrea Gilmore, in her 50thappearance for the Fever, that sparked a turnaround. As the Fever began to
string their passes together with more panache, they assumed the lead for the
first time with 30 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter, and went to
the benches 12-10 up.

As
Fever extended in the second quarter, with sustained pressure, the Tactix
employed their traditional zone marking to try to stop the flow. But it was a tough ask, as Cox's long
cross-court passes were, for the most part, deadly, and former Swift Ashleigh
Brazill, in her new position at centre, was all-pervading throughout the court
and quick to snatch up any loose ball.

Harten
stood strong against fellow English player Eboni Beckford-Chambers, at goal
defence for Fever, but the homeside had the obvious advantage at halftime -
both in the 25-18 on the scoreboard and in their control of the court.

Despite
the determined efforts of captain and centre Maree Bowden to keep her side in
the game, and some hard-won turnovers, the Tactix couldnt get any closer in
the third spell; their shooters starved of ball for extended periods as the
Fevers midcourt defence tightened their grip.

Trailing
39-26 going into the final quarter, the Tactix tried a change in shooting
bringing Thompson in at goal attack to improve their fortunes. But the Fever were on a roll, and with
Bassett finding the hoop with a growing regularity, only widened the chasm
between them.